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01-08-2020 | Tick | Original Paper

Predictors of Tick Exposure Risk-Reduction Behavior in Indiana

Authors: Oghenekaro Omodior, Maya Luetke, Sina Kianersi, Alec Colón

Published in: Journal of Community Health | Issue 4/2020

Abstract

To identify significant predictors of the adoption of more than one tick-exposure and tick-borne disease risk reduction behavior among a cross-section of Indiana residents. Study participants were recruited through quota sampling, before completing an online self-administered questionnaire in Qualtrics. The most adopted tick exposure risk reduction behavior (TERRB) (was ‘Walking on established trails and avoiding contact with adjacent vegetation’ (83%, n = 2418). This was followed by ‘Conducting a thorough check of clothing and the body soon after returning from the outdoors’ (81%, n = 2373). The two least adopted TERRBs were,’ Treating outdoor clothing with special insect repellent (e.g. Permethrin)’ (48%, n = 1409) and ‘Wearing appropriate clothing’ (‘Tucking shirt into pants, and the pants into socks when outdoors’) respectively (52%, n = 1524). Study participants who engaged in residential tick control practices (i.e. ‘three-foot wide barrier of wood chips/gravel between lawn and woodland’, ‘yard pesticide application’, ‘shrub & tree-branch trimming’, ‘yard fencing’, ‘fixed time lawn mowing’, and ‘leaf litter removal’) were significantly more likely to adopt nearly all the assessed TERRBs. Higher scores on TERRB efficacy index were associated with engaging in multiple TERRBs. Higher degree of worry about safety/health because of ticks was also associated with adoption of multiple TERRBs. In conclusion, increased risk perceptions, among Indiana residents is significantly associated with adoption of multiple TERRBs. Identifying the predictors of the adoption of more than one TERRB is vital for the prevention of tick-borne diseases.

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Title: Predictors of Tick Exposure Risk-Reduction Behavior in Indiana
Authors: Oghenekaro Omodior
Maya Luetke
Sina Kianersi
Alec Colón
Publication date: 01-08-2020
Publisher: Springer US
Keywords: Tick
Tick
Published in: Journal of Community Health / Issue 4/2020
Print ISSN: 0094-5145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3610
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00803-1

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